Not For Miles
by closetfangirl77
Summary: He knows what everyone thinks, but his reason for turning the gun on Tom was not for Miles.


"It wasn't for Miles."

"What?" she half-shouted, touching her ear to show she hadn't heard him.

The wagon was moving at breakneck speed, and Bass clung to the side, leaning as close to Charlie as he could. It wasn't the ideal time for a heart-to-heart, but since there was a very good chance they'd all be gassed within the next half-hour, he couldn't afford to wait.

His hand brushed against where hers also gripped the side of the jostling wagon, and she didn't flinch away. "It wasn't for Miles. I know what Tom said, and I know what he thought, but I didn't intercede because of Miles."

She gave him an ambiguous look. "You'd do just about anything for Miles."

"Once upon a time." He pressed his lips together. "That was before I found out he'd hidden my son, and before he flat-out betrayed me for that bi—your mom and got rid of our one weapon that could have ended this nightmare quickly."

She frowned. "You couldn't kill the whole town to stop the Patriots."

Bass ran a hand through his disheveled curls. "You think I wanted to do that, Charlie? War pushes you to do some things no one wants to do. I'd rather sacrifice a town full of Patriot lackeys than lose everything to those khaki bastards." He sighed. "Anyway, we don't have much time, and I just wanted you to know."

"Know what?"

His eyes narrowed at the way her lips twitched. Was she confused, deliberately obtuse, or was she really picking this moment to give him shit? "I stopped Tom from shooting you, not Miles. I would have stood between you and him if Miles hadn't gotten there first. Miles is my brother, but he had nothing to do with me stopping Tom."

"It was all for me?" There was a hint of mocking in her tone, but her eyes were suspiciously bright.

"It probably doesn't seem like it, but about half of what I've done the past few months has been for you, Charlie. A big part for Connor too, which has taken me in a direction…" Bass trailed off as they neared Willoughby. The wall was coming into view, and he figured Miles planned to drive through the opened gate, guns blazing. "Anyway, just wanted you to know." He gripped his pistol tighter and put a hand on his sword, shifting slightly from her to size up the scene. He looked back with some surprise when her hand settled on his shoulder.

"I know, Bass." There was a world of wisdom in her eyes. "It seemed doomed from the start, but I figured it out about the time you came back for me at the school, and your jealousy over Connor made it even clearer."

He frowned. "Speaking of the kid, if you get out of this alive, find him and live some fairytale shit or something."

She shook her head. "Nah, Connor isn't the Monroe for me." She gave him a slow, sexy smile. "When we both get out of this, we'll talk more." Leaning forward after shooting a furtive glance at the other two in the wagon, who paid no attention to them, she pressed her lips to the side of his mouth for a second. "Maybe more than talk," she said in a breathy whisper near his ear.

"Fuck, Charlie, how am I supposed to concentrate now?" he whispered as they entered the Patriot stronghold, finding it surprisingly empty, though lights in the center of town pinpointed where everyone had gathered. That had to be where they had the gas too.

He'd had plenty of reasons to fight and survive, including a confrontation with Connor that he hoped would still leave him with a son, despite how his kid probably felt abandoned. He felt abandoned too, knowing his kid didn't have his back in the end, obviously too jealous thinking Bass had chosen Miles—as if it were a damned competition—to risk his own neck. Bass knew he'd have some hard decisions to make about the future of the Monroe Republic if he could patch up things with Connor, but his first priority was salvaging a relationship with his son.

Except, his priorities had suddenly shifted. Now, his first priority was getting out of this with his hide intact, while ensuring Charlie did the same, so they could have that talk…and maybe more than. It should have been distracting, what she'd said, but it seemed to be sharpening his senses instead. Charlotte Matheson was full of surprises and a better motivator than that Tony Robbins guy who'd been on the late-night infomercials before Rachel's nanites screwed the world.

As they scrambled from the wagon, Miles outlining a hasty plan, he locked gazes with Charlie for just a second. Her eyes were full of promises that he intended to make sure she kept. With absolute certainty, he knew they would both get through this night. After that, nothing would ever be the same again.

A/N: After last week, I was pretty disgusted with the whole show. I hated how Miles betrayed Bass, and I hated how the writers seemed to be turning Bass back into a power-driven psycho. Coupled with that nasty kiss with Rachel, and their sordid past revealed, I was so done with Bass and the whole Charloe thing. And then the bastard writers pulled a rabbit out of the hat and made me care again this week. That moment when Bass turned on Tom, who held the gun on Miles and Charlie—well, I just knew it wasn't because of Miles that he had stopped Neville, especially after that intense look he exchanged with Charlie. So, the writers will probably still screw up things and kill off Bass, or something equally cruel, but at least they gave one last nod to Charloe.


End file.
